A group of Anglophone students from the Higher Teachers’ Training College (ENS) Maroua, trained in various academic disciplines and recently posted to francophone schools in some regions of the country to teach English Language or “Anglaise” have asked to be transferred to schools operated under the English subsystem of Education where they can effectively deliver to students what they have been trained for.

The last batch of graduates from ENS Maroua where posted to school in regions across the country by ministerial decision N° 08-16/16/D/MINESEC/SG/DRH/DEN/DESG/DESTP/DOVAS du 22 JAN 2016. Amongst the lot are close to 50 Anglophone students trained in disciplines like Geography, History, Maths, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics and Biology posted to instead teach English Language or “Anglaise” in French technical and general colleges in francophone regions.

Some of the teachers who spoke to Bamenda Online on condition of anonymity complained of several difficulties and obstacles encountered on the field. “This is succinct evidence of misplaced priorities in this country, am a trained biology teacher but here am I expected to teach anglaise to francophone students” one retorted over the phone, to another, a geography trained teacher posted to a technical college in the Noun Division of the West Region said “being schooled in an English system of education does not make you a language teacher yet we are expected to teach “Anglaise” to French students, what standards are we passing out? What would become of our standard of education and English language in particular? Is this not an indirect way to kill the English language?” he wondered aloud.

Meanwhile a few are trying to put up a fight by writing to their respective regional delegates and to the ministry and asked to be transferred or mutated to teach the subjects the master but others we also spoke to said they have resigned to their fate for fear of being punitively transferred to undesirable locations.

An unnamed official at the regional delegation of Education Northwest said these misplaced postings and disguised employment is all in the name of “regional balance” where English speaking candidates are admitted into ENS Maroua and French speaking candidates into the Higher Teachers’ Training College (HTTC) and Higher Teachers’ Technical Training College (HTTTC) Bamenda and Kumba to be trained in French and English and subsequently posted to schools operated under the respective systems. It would have been easier if Anglophones admitted are trained in the teachers’ training colleges of Bamenda and Kumba and Francophones in ENS Maroua and Yaoundé for thoroughbred teachers of the two subsystems of education rather than a mixed-confused systems as it obtains now with no foreseeable gain the official added.

Recently the Cameroon Teachers’ Trade Union (CATTU) petitioned the minister of Secondary Education against sending French educated students from HTTC and HTTTC Bamenda for teaching practices in English schools due to their poor mastery of the English language and inability to express themselves.

Many Cameroonians mostly of the English extraction have continued to question the rationale behind such government policies. Some even complain of an invasion of the English subsystem of education by francophones who now make up a sizable percentage of students in secondary and post secondary English institutions of learning.

Teaching is difficult enough without being assigned to teach a subject you are not trained for in a system you are unfamliar with!

What is the medium of delivery of training in Maroua? Are the Maths/Chemistry/Geography teachers trained in French or English? Perharps the is experience should help future applicants to vote with their feet and choose training institutions appropriately.

As for punitive transfers, that is a real issue to address.

Tanni Husseni Yussufa August 26, 2016 at 9:01 am

This is a justification of a fail state

The Don August 25, 2016 at 9:06 pm

Bad Country!!!!!!

Abakwa Boy August 25, 2016 at 9:05 pm

This is just to show how confused we are in this country, but one day God would come to our rescue.